Read and Share Bible - The Story of Christmas

I received a copy of Read and Share: The Story of Christmas from Thomas Nelson Publishing free for review the other day.

Overall, I felt the book did a respectable job telling the Christmas story at a level that children could understand it. I have minor quibbles with what was omitted to make the story fit their needs, but nothing of theological significance. The wording is such that preschool age children could easily follow along if you read it to them.

The authors stick to the Biblical story line of the birth of Christ, starting in Luke 1:5 with the birth of John the Baptizer and finishing with Matthew 2:23 where Joseph, Mary and Jesus return from their exile in Egypt. The artwork is very simple, but in a warm and friendly way that most children would enjoy. The authors presented a clear message and I would recommend this book. I liked the story presentation well enough that I am even planning on using it during worship services at my church this coming Christmas!

With the book comes a bonus DVD is the best part of the book. The DVD is the videos of six stories from the life of Jesus. These come from the larger series of the Read and Share DVD Bible - Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, and Volume 4. I watched the segments, and quite frankly was sucked right in. Even as an adult. Even as a pastor. The book is a condensed version of the story told in the videos, but the video tells the story much better. While I recommend the book, I really recommend the videos. If you have young children you are trying to share the Bible with, this is a great set of tools to aid you in that process.